# Decade in the red. Trump taxes. **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 7, 2019, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640 "2019-05-07T23:33:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/41 "2019-05-08T12:00:38Z")
People who voted for him solely because they didn’t like Hillary can be swayed next time by the idea that Trump considers himself above paying taxes. It doesn’t require huge numbers- Trump won Wisconsin’s electoral votes because of something like 23,000 voters. Sounds like a lot, maybe, but it is not. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/42 "2019-05-08T12:07:59Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > What is “helpful” about linking to a silly article about someone’s taxes in 1985? > > No one, not even the IRS cares, about tax returns from 33 years ago. > > Should we take another look at Harry Truman’s tax returns from 1945? Of course, the returns were 1985-1994. You just happened to choose the earliest year of the span for effect. Harry Truman died a pauper. Of course, he didn’t have a rich dad to bail him out or give him a huge inheritance. We wouldn’t be talking about his 1985-1994 returns if he had released his latest returns like everyone else who has run for office since Nixon. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/43 "2019-05-08T12:27:54Z")
But guys, in 1994 he was but an idealistic young 48 year old. We can’t judge him based on his youthful exuberance. And besides, being a terrible businessman is just locker room talk. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/44 "2019-05-08T12:33:55Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > People who voted for him solely because they didn’t like Hillary can be swayed next time by the idea that Trump considers himself above paying taxes. It doesn’t require huge numbers- Trump won Wisconsin’s electoral votes because of something like 23,000 voters. Sounds like a lot, maybe, but it is not. Exactly. Americans don’t like it when the rich play by different rules. And, now, Trump is doubling down and in his decision on whether to be considered a terrible businessman or a tax cheat, he’s gone with[tax cheat](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1126078422797602816): \* "Real estate developers in the 1980’s & 1990’s, more than 30 years ago, were entitled to massive write offs and depreciation which would, if one was actively building, show losses and tax losses in almost all cases. Much was non monetary. Sometimes considered “tax shelter,” … …you would get it by building, or even buying. You always wanted to show losses for tax purposes…almost all real estate developers did - and often re-negotiate with banks, it was sport. Additionally, the very old information put out is a highly inaccurate Fake News hit job!"\* This is something Democrats can make a big deal about, because it IS a big deal and it happens to coincide with their message that the rich are not paying their share. Trump isn’t paying any share at all. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/45 "2019-05-08T12:50:47Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Yes, talking about his taxes from 1985. :rolleyes: > [@](#): > > “After only his outsider status, Gallup polling showed earlier this year, backers of the real estate mogul turned reality TV star cited his record as a “good businessman” as the leading factor driving their support.” > > [Daily Kos](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/6/5/1533493/-So-Trump-fans-say-they-want-a-businessman-as-President), 6/5/2016 I mean, some people might be upset that they were tricked by a conman. And then there’s the likes of **D’Anconia**. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/46 "2019-05-08T13:14:39Z")
So it’s fake news. Or it’s just stuff people like him did. One or the other. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/47 "2019-05-08T13:48:57Z")
what would be funny is if his net worth now was less than the amount of money he got from his father. Which means in total he never made profit over the past 30 years or so. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/48 "2019-05-08T14:07:19Z")
> [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](#): > > I mean, some people might be upset that they were tricked by a conman. And then there’s the likes of **D’Anconia**. There’s one born every minute. While some suckers never realize they’ve been had, others just don’t want to admit it. And then there are those who just like–or put up with–having a steaming pile of bullshit in the Oval Office, for various reasons, and become chronic apologists (c.f. Mitch McConnell). It’s a coalition of suckers and bottom feeders. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/49 "2019-05-08T14:16:49Z")
I think that a wealthy businessman cheating on his taxes for “sport” provides a pretty legitimate legislative purpose to looking at his taxes in Congress. If we want legislation to stop such a sport, we should understand the methods. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/50 "2019-05-08T14:23:35Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Yes, talking about his taxes from 1985. :rolleyes: No, talking about a decade of incredible losses, 1985 to 1994. Over 1 billion dollars in loss during the time he was supposedly extremely successful. Your habitually lying president is now your financially incompetent habitually lying president. He lied to you…and you eat it up as if it were caviar. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/51 "2019-05-08T14:34:55Z")
Caviar paid for with a bounced check. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/52 "2019-05-08T14:37:41Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > This! > > Look, I get that it’s fun to bag on the retarded Orange man. But none of this is going to help Dems take back the WH in the next election. > > Dems getting their panties in a twist over shit like this is the _exact_ type of thing anyone who _isn’t_ a Dem makes fun of us for. > > By all means, have your fun, but I do hope a lion’s share of your focus goes towards shit that actually matters. Frankly, I am sick of people like you telling me what is _really_ important. Like, who made you arbiter of the political discourse? I don’t remember taking a vote. This may not bother you none, and that’s fine. But somewhere out there, there is a fence-sitter out there who reflexively plays the “both sides” card. Someone who remembers when Republicans were beating poor welfare recipients over the head for not paying any taxes just a couple of years ago. Somewho who may have even agreed with them that it is a shame that people can benefit from the system more than they put in. Those people may not care about Trump the Russian Puppet or Trump the Racist Misogynist. But maybe they WILL be bothered by Trump the Hypocritical Leech. If Dems can wake these people up then they may have a decent chance of winning. If panty-twisting is what it takes to make that happen, I am all for it. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/53 "2019-05-08T14:49:24Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Frankly, I am sick of people like you telling me what is _really_ important. Like, who made you arbiter of the political discourse? I don’t remember taking a vote. > > This may not bother you none, and that’s fine. But somewhere out there, there is a fence-sitter out there who reflexively plays the “both sides” card. Someone who remembers when Republicans were beating poor welfare recipients over the head for not paying any taxes just a couple of years ago. Somewho who may have even agreed with them that it is a shame that people can benefit from the system more than they put in. Those people may not care about Trump the Russian Puppet or Trump the Racist Misogynist. But maybe they WILL be bothered by Trump the Hypocritical Leech. If Dems can wake these people up then they may have a decent chance of winning. If panty-twisting is what it takes to make that happen, I am all for it. Thank you. I was going to respond to **Grrr** in a similar vein, but I don’t think I can improve on this. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/54 "2019-05-08T15:09:31Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Frankly, I am sick of people like you telling me what is _really_ important. Like, who made you arbiter of the political discourse? I don’t remember taking a vote. > . Of course it’s important to folks like me and you. But it’s going to take more folks than me and you to win the WH back. You don’t need to convince me DT is an evil presence, we need to convince the independents. And this shit right here is doing the exact opposite. ---
**Author:** ![Amara\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7993a0/32.png) [@Amara\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amara_1)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/55 "2019-05-08T15:12:10Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > Of course it’s important to folks like me and you. But it’s going to take more folks than me and you to win the WH back. You don’t need to convince me DT is an evil presence, we need to convince the independents. And this shit right here is doing the exact opposite. How do you know? **Monstro’s** post was excellent and I also don’t understand why some people are so insistent that we focus only on the items that _they_ think are really, super-duper important. Besides there are cites up-thread that viewing Trump as a good businessman was very important for people voting for him. This directly counters that. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/56 "2019-05-08T15:14:37Z")
> [@Amara\_1](#): > > Besides there are cites up-thread that viewing Trump as a good businessman was very important for people voting for him. This directly counters that. No it doesn’t. It shows how great of a businessman he was, avoiding taxes. He even tweeted today about how great he did back then. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/57 "2019-05-08T15:22:22Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > [Decade in the Red: Trump Tax Figures Show Over $1 Billion in Business Losses - The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/05/07/us/politics/donald-trump-taxes.html) > I’m sure not many of us are surprised. He’s paid very little in Federal taxes. Same as GM, Apple, IBM and many other companies that seem to be losing money for tax purposes. It’s called accounting. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/58 "2019-05-08T15:22:46Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > No it doesn’t. It shows how great of a businessman he was, avoiding taxes. He even tweeted today about how great he did back then. But not everyone is stupid enough to agree with a lying buffoon. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/59 "2019-05-08T15:24:51Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Same as GM, Apple, IBM and many other companies that seem to be losing money for tax purposes. It’s called accounting. Now go back and read the cite in the OP-Trump didn’t “seem to lose money for tax purposes”. He was just a fucking financial failure. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640/60 "2019-05-08T15:28:23Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > But not everyone is stupid enough to agree with a lying buffoon. 60 million people are. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decade-in-the-red-trump-taxes/833640.md?page=4)